Asian shares advance and oil slips back despite a barrage of attacks by Iran

[AP Photo]

Asia shares advanced yesterday, with benchmarks in Japan and South Korea jumping as oil prices fell back slightly despite a barrage of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbors.

U.S. futures rose 0.6% after a session of moderate gains on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates later in the day.

Worries over global oil and gas supplies and rising prices are still clouding global markets, though Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to around $101 per barrel, down from above $106 on Monday.

U.S. benchmark crude fell 3.6% to $92.78 per barrel.

Iran lashed yesterday with multiple attacks on its Gulf neighbors and Israel. But markets seem to have taken the latest escalations in stride.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.9% after the government reported exports were higher than expected in February. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 5%. Lower oil prices are a boon for big oil importers like Japan and South Korea.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed early losses, surging 0.8% to 26,076.00, while the Shanghai Composite index also rebounded, gaining 0.3%. Taiwan’s Taiex added 1.5%

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.3% and India’s Sensex advanced 0.9%.